Classic and Contemporary Poetry
FLEETING TO THE SPIRIT-LAND, by RICHARD SOLOMON GEDNEY Poet's Biography First Line: And I am dying - life and strength are gone Last Line: Who strikes the harp with silver strings so gently? Subject(s): Angels; Death; Heaven; Dead, The; Paradise | ||||||||
AND I am dyinglife and strength are gone, Faded, as fade the hues of evening rainbows, And the glad thoughts in which I did indulge Pass, like sere autumn leaves;no more for me The happy sunbeam smiles, nor on my eyes The starry lights that gild the arch of morn Shall gleam,nor thy sweet sorrowing look, O moon! The haunted forest, the flower-sprinkled plains I shall not tread again; nor look aloft On the crystalline clouds that veil from sight Of human eye the paradise-thrones of God. Behold! my days are done!and what have I to show To the ETERNAL, for the trust HE gave me? Oh Life, warm Life, I feel thee passing from me! The spirits that are near, methinks are come To bear me from this orb upon their wings, Far to some airy realm, beyond the ken Of human eye or fancy. * * * * Whate'er our destiny may be, we know not; But yet, methinks 'tis joy. A strain of music Seems borne on mists of sunshine through my soul, And million-peopled dreams, and living visions, Crowd round me full of life and active passion: And there are beauteous landscapes, and fair skies, And genial meetings, and enchanted hours, And tones of old and well-remembered songs, And spirit-shapes, bringing my life before me; And some are clad in beauty, such as crowned The angels, ere they fell from heaven through pride. Oh, wandering Shapes, That rise in star-shine and in melody around me, Beckoning me on with fond and beaming eyes, Whence have ye come, and whither do ye wend? Pale and most spirit-like your features seem, Like lilies in the moonlight bathed in dew. Whence are these exquisite voices? Whence the hymns Of sad celestial sweetness that ye raise? Who strikes the harp with silver strings so gently? | Discover our Poem Explanations and Poet Analyses!Other Poems of Interest...THE END OF LIFE by PHILIP JAMES BAILEY SEVEN TWILIGHTS: 6 by CONRAD AIKEN THE BOOK OF THE DEAD MAN (#19): 2. MORE ABOUT THE DEAD MAN AND WINTER by MARVIN BELL THE WORLDS IN THIS WORLD by LAURE-ANNE BOSSELAAR A SKELETON FOR MR. PAUL IN PARADISE; AFTER ALLAN GUISINGER by NORMAN DUBIE BEAUTY & RESTRAINT by DANIEL HALPERN HOW IT WILL HAPPEN, WHEN by DORIANNE LAUX IF THIS IS PARADISE by DORIANNE LAUX ABSENCE by RICHARD SOLOMON GEDNEY AN HOUR WITH FANCY by RICHARD SOLOMON GEDNEY ASPIRATIONS TO THE INFINITE; ADDRESSED TO A FRIEND by RICHARD SOLOMON GEDNEY |
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